


Admiration

by SparkandSmile



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Creepy, Dark, Desert Bluffs, Family, Gen, Strexcorp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-02-27 13:44:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2695178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparkandSmile/pseuds/SparkandSmile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the Welcome To Night Vale Secret Santa.<br/>Prompt: Admiration.</p>
<p>Kevin loves his Grandmother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Admiration

**Author's Note:**

  * For [strexcorpsfavorite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/strexcorpsfavorite/gifts).



Kevin had always admired his Grandmother, it was a constant in his life, something to cling to, something to remind him who he was when he was lost. Kevin was a person who admired his Grandmother. That was all he needed to know. He’d always wanted to be his Grandmother, as much as that was possible. To crawl inside her skin, and her old decrepit bones that were like old-fashioned scaffolding; built by people in a time before huge and brilliant corporations brought everything and made it shiny and happy and bleeding.

When he was younger she had taught him how to sew, cook a five course meal in under an hour, and slay anyone who threatened him. She had, in short, been exactly the kind of Grandmother one sees in Christmas advertisements, and he had adored her with all of his weeping heart for it. Every second with her had been wonderful fun, to the young boy he had been!  

Later, when Strexcorp had first come to Desert Bluffs, she had taught him, and all of his little friends, how to resist corporate control and defend their little desert community. Why, she had even helped him broadcast unapproved radio messages, since by that point he was the official voice of Desert Bluffs, as he had always known he would be. Those messages had echoed through his little world, stirring fires and calling every single person to arms, whether young or old; male, female, or other; human or strange other-worldly being.

Yes, Kevin admired his Grandmother so much. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t see her faults, gosh no! He knew that his when Strex arrived his Grandmother was already old, and she’d simply been confused, but what she’d done was still inappropriate. Just think how much faster he would have turned into the loving embrace of the Smiling God if she hadn’t encouraged his youthful hijinks. So much wasted productivity, it made Kevin sick to think of it!

Even when she’d had a nice chat with the friendly people at Strex, and seen the error of her ways, Kevin- and therefore all the people he’d been erroneously encouraging- still wouldn’t listen, so sure she was being forced to say all those, in hindsight, wonderful things. Which was silly, really. Of course she was being forced to say those things, we are all being forced to say everything, constantly. Nothing we say belongs to us! Thinking anything different is just ridiculous.

Looking back, Kevin felt more than a little embarrassed about the whole thing. It had always been destined to fail, and he simply didn’t understand why he hadn’t let it all fall apart sooner like he should have. Especially when they had all been slowly being picked off, and each person who returned seemed happier and happier even as the good folks at Strex understandably got a little irritated at their antics. Why, the size of the smiles on some of the faces of those who had realised the error of their ways, with a little help from Strexcorp and the Smiling God.

No one’s smile was wider than Kevin’s though! He was proud and thankful for his bright and cheery smile, and he knew it brightened the day of everyone who saw it! Why, even his double had been so pleased to see him that he had given him a great hug upon seeing him! And they were complete strangers! He hoped one day to be able to see his double again, and to put a big smile on his face, so that they were both exact, perfect reflections of each other.

His Grandmother’s smile didn’t seem to be very big nowadays though, which was a shame. Maybe he should pay her a visit; he could make sure she was taking her medicine. Strex had told him that she was so old that she had been getting quite sick, which was why she had been so confused when they first arrived in Desert Bluffs. As long as she took her medicine she was always happy and cheerful though, and no one was confused! Kevin loved it when his Grandmother was happy, it meant what he knew didn’t get all mixed up with what he felt! 

In fact, whenever he saw how happy his Grandmother was, every single tiny part of him wanted to grab hold of her tiny frail body, and squeeze in a crushing, bone-breaking hug. Even that silly, argumentative part of him, which had the silliest ideas sometimes, seemed to think that the best thing he could do for his Grandmother at this point was hug her.

However, just as he was getting ready to head over to the small house which had haunted his childhood, he remembered! His Grandmother would be busy! She had caused so much lost productivity after all, and now she was working hard to make up for it, just like he was.

Kevin settled back down comfortably, nestling against his own pillow which bore the legend: “Reach Your Full Productive Potential”. He really did love that pillow, it was so lovely of his Grandmother to sell it to him! And she’d been so happy selling it to him as well! Why, he’d never seen her smile as wide, except perhaps for the first time he had visited after seeing how wrong he’d been about Strex! Then, she’d been so happy that her wide gaping smile had torn at the edges, and she’d cried in joy! Kevin loved, loved, loved thinking of that moment, of how happy he could make Grandmother! It was simply the best feeling in the world!

Kevin really did love his Grandmother so much, after all.


End file.
